Revelations
by Olive Tree Hugger
Summary: Korra likes to think she's on top of these things, but mysterious faces and voices tell her otherwise. When she loses her fire bending, the only way she can go is forward.


**Well, hello there pretty babies! So this is something I've never tried before. I dug deep in Korra's spiritual psyche and started poking around where I probably shouldn't have. There are glimpses of an OC character of mine from a different story I've been writing, which will be called "Illusions and Shadows", about Yume. Yume is not as vulnerable as she appears here. She's a bitch sometimes. Anyhoo, here's this long one shot. Review!**

* * *

A pig-rooster crowed somewhere outside.

The soft pitter-patter of rain on the pagoda rooftop rang throughout the temple.

A whoosh sounded somewhere close to Korra's room and before she could even open her eyes, four little bodies had sprung into her bed. Someone landed right on her hip with their knee and the girl shot up screaming, "STOP!"

There was another whirlwind of commotion that followed, with Jinora and Ikki chattering and Meelo cackling and Rohan bouncing on his newly operational legs. Korra was being jostled from side to side, her ears ringing with unwanted and frankly, unnecessary noise; it wasn't her ideal way to wake up so early in the morning.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it!" She yelled, bunching her sheets in her hands.

Ikki was the first to stop talking, before launching into a quick and an incomprehensible monologue about her pet pig-rooster Derk not liking the raining or snow. Whilst the rest of her siblings were all listening to some degree, Korra tried her best to tune the child out as she trudged out of bed. There were some days where she could pretend to be happy about early morning meditation. But today was already proving to be terrible.

She'd had those dreams again. The pale, sad face of a girl she didn't recognize, but somehow felt responsible for, the clear screams filling her mind, spatters of blood and shining, blinding lights everywhere; it was nightmarish in all senses of the word.

As she left her room, the little air monks in tow, she yawned uncontrollably. She'd woken up three times in the middle of the night because of the recurring dream, and had finally started to drift off when the air benders flew in to wake her up.

"Wow, Korra, you sound tired. Did you sleep _at all_ last night?" Ikki questioned, grasping the Avatar's hand.

Korra squeezed the hand in hers and gave the girl a sleepy, sad smile. "No, Ikki. I've been having that dream again."

"That violent one?" Jinora asked, gliding across the floor using her air bending. Meelo followed behind her swiftly, flying up to land on Korra's shoulders. "You should talk to someone about it," he advised. Rohan's unclear gurgles came after as he waddled beside her. Korra shook her head, responding, "It's almost the Fire Festival, kids. I really don't want to bring anyone down with it."

Jinora grabbed her baby brother's hand and looked up at her older friend. "No one will judge you, if that's what you're thinking. Nightmares happen to everyone," she informed.

The Avatar shook her head. "That's not it at all," she explained, slightly annoyed, "You just didn't see those dreams. Even if I told you every single disgusting, horrid detail, you just wouldn't understand it from my perspective."

Meelo drummed his chubby fingers on her head, asking "So is it an Avatar thing?"

Korra looked up, replying, "Exactly."

Because the rain had stopped finally, the five of them walked quietly into the garden on the east side of Air Temple Island. Korra loved this garden. It wasn't just the lush greenery, or the nice view of the pier, it was the complete and utter silence. Even though Korra was a rambunctious Avatar, always making trouble, she also liked to concentrate. Once she learned to air bend, spirituality and patience became a key part of her character.

The air monks took off when they saw their father awaiting them at the pagoda, coasting towards him. Korra smiled at him from afar, calling, "'Morning, Tenzin!"

The calm, older monk returned with a softer, "Good morning, Korra. Did you sleep well?"

The younger monks took their places lined up in lotus position. Korra walked up the steps and bowed to her master before crossing her legs beside Jinora. "I slept alright," she replied. Tenzin gave her a smile before sitting before her and closing his eyes. Korra did the same, wondering if she could pass sleeping as meditation. It wouldn't be the first time Tenzin mistook napping as extreme relaxation.

She closed her eyes and sighed as her eyes burned with the desire to sleep. She straightened her back out, relaxed the rest of her muscles, and deepened her breathing. She imagined herself on that celestial plane of energy, tip-toing over the road of release like it was a tightrope. As the familiar inner serenity started to wash over her, a pulsating sensation racked her brain. Suddenly, a voice was speaking to her. It was scared, lonely perhaps. It was a female's voice.

"Hello?" She called desperately.

Korra saw a hand reach out of the blackness. It was alabaster white, nails dirty. The fingers were slender and very thin. After the hand was completely visible, a red sleeve faded into her view. It was a long arm, very skinny though. Soon, more withdrew from the black space and Korra was standing face to face with a girl. Her hair was limp, a dark brown color. Her face was white and terrified. Her golden eyes were filled with tears. She looked worried.

As Korra opened her mouth to say something, she felt another pulse and her forehead felt like it was about to explode. She screamed in agony, jolting backwards and falling onto her back.

As her vision swam with shadows, Tenzin's worrisome voice echoed somewhere. Korra's head pounding furiously as fast her heart, she opened her eyes and groaned. Her vision turned a blinding white. This wasn't the Avatar State—this was some kind of revelation. It numbed her body.

Tenzin's face came into her view. His bushy brows furrowed in fear, his lips turned down in a frown. "Korra? Avatar Korra!" He shouted, his grip on her shoulders as he shook her. "Korra!" He yelled again.

The Avatar finally responded, blinking as the pain slowly disappeared like the sunset, gliding downwards gradually. She looked up at her master, trying to smile up at him. "T-t-Tenzin?"

The monk closed his eyes in relief, sighing. His children looked over his shoulder, staring down worriedly at Korra. She looked up, murmuring, "The girl….it was the girl…again…"

Tenzin let go of her, leaning back on his heels. "I think we need to talk," he stated finally.

* * *

"Explain to me, this-this girl, you keep seeing," his voice said.

Korra's eyes were closed, but she was in lotus position. Tenzin told her the best way to purge her frustrations was to talk about them, and realize what they meant.

"She's….skinny, like she's hungry. Not starving—just needs to stop dieting type of skinny," she said, with a smidgen of a comedic tone in her voice.

"What else?"

"She's otherwise kind of pretty. Really dark head of hair, yellow eyes—kind of like…Fire Nation people. Maybe she's from there?"

"Perhaps," Tenzin replied, "Tell me, Korra, what emotion was she projecting?"

Korra shifted uncomfortably in her station, before answering, "A great deal of sadness. And worry. Like she was disappointed in something. It was like," she tried to think for a moment, "her life depended on this one thing."

"I see. Was there any indication of what this 'thing' was?"

"No. But…I feel very…._close_ to her."

"And how is that?"

"Well, you know how Master Katara is always taking care of everything and she feels the need to check on us all the time?"

"Yes, my mother is very nurturing," he responded proudly, "Are you saying you feel that way about her?"

"Yeah, I feel responsible for her. Like, her cause of suffering is my fault."

"Well, nurturing and responsibility are two different things, Korra. Which one is it?"

Korra sighed in frustration. "No," she groaned, "it's both. I feel like I have to help her, but because I'm not currently doing anything to save her, she's suffering_ more."_

"So, she's looking for you," Tenzin concluded.

The girl nodded again, opening her eyes. "Exactly! She needs me. I can feel it."

The monk thought about this for a moment, stroking his grey beard. "Many times the Avatar will experience visions of people who are trying to contact them. They are almost always previous incarnates. Do you think this was a previous Avatar, Korra?"

The girl rubbed her arm, thinking. This girl she'd seen, she didn't know anything about her other than that she was needy and petrified. Like a child. Her child. Korra had already met Aang, Roku, Kyoshi and Kuruk. If she was a previous fire bending Avatar, she would have to have come from generations before. And this girl, the way she was dressed suggested otherwise. The clothing seemed out of Korra's time period, post-modern even.

Then it hit her.

She started to shake at the realization. "Tenzin…" She said.

The monk replied, "Korra, you're trembling. What is it?"

The Avatar whispered, eyes wide open, "She's a future incarnate."

* * *

The lights in the sky glowed like millions of fireflies, the sounds of laughter and music replacing what usually was silence. Korra walked around the coast of Yue Bay, marveling at the sight of so many Fire Nation immigrants and fire benders gathered in one place. It was the Fire Festival, one grand party that Korra could truly and really enjoy. Something about being around so much red and flames and heat made her feel bubbly inside. She loved air bending because of its freedom, water bending because of its soothing and healing qualities, earth bending because it was about braveness and power, but fire bending was special. She liked being a fire bender because, as Fire Lord Zuko once taught her, fire is the source of life in the world. It is energy's pure essence.

Korra roamed her eyes over the crowd. Her friends were supposed to be here, but she couldn't find them. She rolled her eyes with boredom, thinking about what they were all doing besides hanging out with her. Asami would be looking at silks, no doubt, or parts for her famous machinery. The Fire Nation hit it big in the industry once Councilman Sokka got his hands on them. Bolin was probably drooling over indigenous Fire Nation cuisine. Mako was most likely taking a walk. It was something he liked to do in his spare time.

She decided to push past the crowd and treaded off to the beach, where the waves crashed down onto the shore and clawed at the sand, swallowing grains of it. Korra noted how the cycle of elements worked; the water was joining itself with earth, just as the wind blew over the fire of the sun. It was a marvelous and fascinating thought.

Korra reached the water and took off her sandals. She lifted her orange sarong, which she'd specifically worn for this occasion, and stepped into the waves. She closed her eyes smiled as the cool liquid poured around her feet, drinking her in. As she stood at the shore, letting the water lick her limbs, Korra looked over her shoulder at a noise.

"Is that you, Mako?" She asked.

"Yeah," came the reply, "I've been looking everywhere for you, Korra. Come on, let's go back to the Festival!"

"OK," Korra replied, reluctantly pulling herself out of the water. She hurried over to where the tall, handsome fire bender stood. She immediately hurled herself into his arms, which he curled around her waist as he kissed her.

Pulling away from the embrace a few moments later, Korra smiled up at Mako. Something hard poked at her thigh, making her ask, "Is there something in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

The fire bender smirked and put a hand on her waist as he led her towards the coast. "The latter, I'm afraid. You know that sarong of yours is see-through, and now you're all wet…."

Korra gently and playfully punched his arm, chastising, "Down boy."

Mako threw his head back and howled at the moon, _"Awooooooooo!"_

The Avatar chuckled, "You're worse than Naga."

They soon found themselves back in the midst of lights and warmth. The festival was raging on even though it was almost midnight.

"Hmm," Korra observed.

"What?" Mako asked, pulling her closer to him as they walked.

"I'm surprised that any fire bender can stay awake this long," she said, "You all rise with the sun, not the moon."

The man beside her shrugged, saying, "I took a nap before work, had some caffeine right after, and now I'm with the prettiest girl in the world and I really don't want to fall asleep on her. That wouldn't be very gentlemanly."

Korra snorted. "You're such a dork, Mako." She stood on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek, muttering, "But you're my dork, so it's alright."

She spotted someone selling fire flakes off to the side and dragged Mako there. Forking over her yuans, she started to eat them with vigor. Mako took a few bites himself, not noticing the flaming sensation that the snack had brought Korra.

The Avatar coughed, fanning her tongue and screeching, "Since when do they freaking put curry on these things?!"

"They always have," Mako explained matter-of-factly, "Maybe the guy just put more on them this time."

Korra cleared her throat, eyes burning. "Ugh, that was awful!" She grunted whilst grabbing a cup of water from some passerby. She barely muttered a "sorry" before chugging the whole thing down.

Her boyfriend simply rolled his eyes and bit back a chuckle at his girlfriend's blunt disregard for strangers.

"Hey, that's Avatar Korra!"

Mako and Korra both looked over to where the sound came, which was followed by enthusiastic applause and shouting. Korra found herself separated from Mako, being shoved forward. Confused, she tried to dig her heels into the ground, but she continued to surge onwards. She soon wound up tumbling onto a makeshift stage. A woman in a glaringly bright red dress was holding a microphone; she excitedly greeted her, "It's the savior of the world, Avatar Korra! Hello, Avatar!"

The girl cleared her throat, nervously waving at the crowd that had suddenly gathered round the stage. She saw Mako's amused smirk in the front. She glared at him, but started to smile.

The woman's obnoxiously high voice was only amplified by the microphone, "So, as we all know, you can bend all four elements, right?"

The crowd cheered. Korra nodded, feeling uncomfortable on stage. "That's right," she told the woman.

Laughing as though Korra had said something hilarious, the woman looked over her shoulder and waved her fingers at some burly looking men coming on stage. They were carrying a metallic structure, resembling a sun with wavy rays surrounding it. The crowd died down as the sun structure was placed in between Korra and the woman. The woman gave the Avatar a huge smile before saying, "Since this is the Fire Festival and you _are_ a fire bender, would you honor us by displaying your most likely _amazing_ bending skills? Avatar Korra, would you light this statue in celebration of the Fire Festival?"

The crowd broke into a flurry of cheers and pleas. Korra looked over the large group, seeing Tenzin and his family amongst them, as well as Mako. He was clapping and cheering her on. She waved at him slightly and turned to the woman, grasping the microphone and yelling into it, "You got it!"

Everyone exploded into applause and Korra took her bending stance. She took a deep breath, then shoved a fist towards the statue. She was shocked to find that not even a spark escaped her body. As the crowd gasped in surprise, Korra punched and kicked furiously at the air, praying that just an ember would appear…

But not so much as a warm gust of air came out.

Everyone started to whisper and call out names and throw things. Korra, horrified, fled from the stage. Mako heard Tenzin call out to the girl, and aimed a fire ball at the sun statue. It burst into flames easily, making the spectators shout in renewed excitement. The fire bender ran off in pursuit of his girlfriend.

He followed the girl to the pier. "Korra!" He shouted.

The Avatar crouched against the wooden dock and tried to keep her breathing even, even though her brain was on the verge of hyperventilating. Why couldn't she fire bend? What was going on? Tremors ran through her body.

Mako approached her running, barely sliding on the wooden boards before gathering her in his arms. "Korra, what happened?" He asked, his eyes wild and anxious.

The girl felt her face burn. She nearly sobbed, grabbing Mako's arms, "I can't lose my bending, not again!"

Tears streamed down her cheeks and all Mako could do was hold her close and stroke her brown hair soothingly. "We'll find a way to fix this," he whispered.

After a few moments of petting and hugging, Korra went limp in his arms. Mako felt the slack and pulled the girl away, staring down at her in horror. He started to shake her, calling her name and even slapping her cheek once. But it was fruitless; Korra was in a different world all together.

* * *

Korra liked the Spirit World. There was this ominous sense to the place, the kind that freaked her out and excited her at the same time. It was foggy almost always, clouding her vision. She couldn't air bend, of course, but she still tried to push through the screen of white. It was an obsession of hers.

This time it was clear, the sky was a deep orange color. Trees lined her right side, vines and foliage hanging from them. She was at the outskirts of a jungle. Surrounding her were tall, sharp boulders, and vines crisscrossing them. There were voices echoing through the air. Korra couldn't tell what they were saying but she knew it wasn't the friendliest of conversations.

She tracked the voices, growing more and more intrigued as she grew closer. She deduced that one voice was higher than the other, being a female's voice. The other voice was droning and heavy, a male. They both sounded familiar somehow, and Korra suspected that she might be seeing some previous incarnates today.

She found herself nearing a particularly large boulder, coming up from behind. Some sort of figure was perched up on it, someone hairy and probably old by the color of the hair. Occasionally a soft grunt or annoyed jab would escape the individual, and it would be returned with an upset reply. Korra gasped because she recognized the female's voice and rounded past the boulder.

Korra raised her brows to find the same young girl from her visions trying desperately to climb the boulder. She would scramble up halfway, and then tumble down on her butt. Korra would have laughed if it weren't so pitiful. "Come on," the girl shouted, "Give me a break, you hairy jerk!"

Said hairy jerk on top of the boulder only shifted slightly from his position on top of the boulder, his face contorting in frustration. Korra crossed her arms over her chest and sneered. She never did like him.

"Yo, odd spirit!" She shouted, grabbing both the girl's and the spirit's attention. "Stop being a dick!"

The primate looked down at her and slouched miserably. "There's _two_ of you?" He droned.

Korra tilted her hips and retorted, "Got that right, bud."

He sighed angrily and turned around, his clothed back facing the two females. Suddenly, he seemed to fade away, becoming part of the jungle background. Korra smirked in triumph before turning to the girl. As usual, she seemed terrified, but the wonder shining in her yellow eyes was not lost to Korra.

The Water Tribe girl put her hands on her waist and jokingly stated, "It's about time we met."

The dark haired girl smiled, as though relieved, and said, "I'm Yume. Are you who I think you are?"

"That depends," Korra replied, "Who do you think I am?"

Yume rubbed her arms and drew in a sharp breath, before answering, "You're Avatar Korra…"

"Got that right."

Scratching at her head, Yume exhaled like she was extremely confused and said, "I've been trying to contact you for a while. Tonten wouldn't speak to me," she grunted in anger, "He's like that monkey spirit."

Korra was confused. Tonten? What kind of name was that? Who was Yume even speaking of? But then it hit her like a metal disk to the cheek. A glimpse of life in impoverished Ba Sing Se. A vague scent of ashes. Trouble learning how to water bend and air bend. A splash of blood finally ending the vision. A shiver ran up her spine. Would that really happen to her?

"The Avatar after me: Tonten," Korra acknowledged finally, "You tried to contact him?"

Yume nodded, breathing heavily. "Yeah! And he was so impatient with me, and I don't know why! I decided to try talking to you, 'cause you seemed nicer…."

Rubbing the back of her neck, trying to think of what to say, Korra finally replied, "Why exactly did you want to speak to Tonten and I?"

Yume looked down at her hands and sighed in disappointment. "I'm supposed to be a natural at fire bending. It should be my first and native element but…" She sighed sadly, "Nothing is working."

Korra remembered earlier how she couldn't fire bend. Was this related to Yume's problem?

The girl continued, the sound of tears in her voice, "I've never had trouble spiritually connecting to my past selves. I have to learn bending so I can go home to Caldera. I sort of….ran away." She sheepishly looked down, sniffing.

The Water Tribe girl didn't know what to say. A young, scared girl ran away from home and could only come back once she knew fire bending. "Are you part of the royal family?"

Yume shook her head furiously, rubbing her wrist against her nose. "No," she rejoined, "It was the government that shut me out in the first place."

Everything was a big mess in Korra's brain. She could hear school bells ringing, heated arguments from a bedroom, a lovely tune being belted out from a musical instrument. And then there was a fire. It burned everywhere, the smoke filling her eyes and lungs and the heat searing her skin.

Yume looked at Korra angrily, saying, "You know how I feel now. I made fire once and I almost killed myself. I had to own up to what I did. Bending is supposed to be a rare gift. And…." An angry, dry chuckle, "I'm the Avatar, I'm screwed."

She kicked at the dirt below her feet. "I know, right? What kind of Avatar doesn't bend the elements?"

Korra sighed. She hated being the one people went to when they needed advice. But Yume was her reincarnation, and Korra felt drawn to her, like a mother to her child. She approached her cautiously, putting a hand on her red-clothed shoulder.

"Hey," she started, "I wasn't always the awesome motherfucker you see before you, alright? I had to go through a lot to establish myself as an Avatar."

Yume didn't look convinced. "Like what?" She sniffed.

Korra trembled at the memories, recalling them even now still felt absolutely painful. "I couldn't learn air bending for a long time, and I was so frustrated because no matter how hard I worked, I couldn't conjure up a single gust of air. My teacher told me that I couldn't learn it because air bending is the opposite of my personality."

The future incarnate asked, "Did you ever learn it?"

Proudly nodding, Korra replied, "Yes I did. I first used my air bending to knock a bad guy out of a window."

"Wow," Yume said, "I haven't tried the other elements yet, but I want to. I was told fire bending is about energy, and I try to tune into it when I meditate but I can't even warm myself up when I'm cold."

A thought occurred to Korra. A scene where she stood center stage floated into her mind, listening to crowds cheering her name, a name that wasn't hers. She felt the passion surge through her, so intense that it left her reeling. She blinked at Yume and said, "You _do_ have a fire in you, Yume. You just used it in the wrong ways. When you last fire bent, what emotions were you feeling?"

"Fear," Yume answered immediately.

"Huh," Korra said. "That might be it, a defense mechanism. Using you bending for all the wrong reasons can seriously impede your abilities in the future."

Yume raised her eyebrows as if this was news to her. Her eyes filled with tears and she growled to herself, "I'm the worst Avatar ever."

"Hey, stop saying that," Korra reprimanded, pulling her into a hug. She felt a strong maternal force pulling her to Yume. She wanted to help her learn fire bending, she wanted to hold her and tell her that nothing could ever stop her. She patted her back as Yume remained frozen in her position, as though surprised by the embrace. Korra uttered softly, "You need to believe in yourself. You need to blatantly stand up to your enemies and tell them who you are."

She pulled away, staring Yume in the eye, "You are the _Avatar_. In your time, in La knows how many years from now, you're going to find adversaries in every corner of the globe. All you can do is fight. You are a fighter, Yume. I know that. After all, you have a little bit of me in you."

A soft laugh, then a sniffle. Yume smiled up at Korra, with her eyes bleary and pink, whispering, "Thank you, Korra."

"Don't mention it, kid," the older girl replied, "Just don't lose hope."

"I won't," Yume promised. As she stepped back, waning off into the distance, Korra called, "And eat a cake or something, you look like a stick!"

* * *

**Annnnnddd that was my attempt at being spiritual. LOL what a fail. So uh...this Yume girl. Really love her as a character, and I'm super excited to finally get her story going. So like...if you guys want me to write this story about her, and publish it, and if you promise to read it, review or give me some kind of reply. Like, please. Like, pretty please.**

**Anyhoo, I finally finished this monster one shot which took me three days to complete. I'm going to celebrate with meat and hummus. And **A Dose Of Buckley**. This is being Arab at its finest.**


End file.
